Aquitaine Sundial Ring

Since seeing this portable sundial in an Edmund Scientific catalog is was on my wishlist.

Eleanor of Aquitaine gave a sundial similar to this one to King Henry II of England. Henry would then know when to return from the hunt to visit her. Henry also had a facsimile of this sun dial made for Eleanor, yet was inlaid with diamonds and engraved with the words Carpe Diem (for “Seize the Day").

Aquitaine Sundial Ring

This particular ring dial was purchased from Edmund Scientific after a few years of wishing it was mine. It's part of my survival gear, and I wear it just about every day. I don't usually wear a watch since my wrists are large and just haven't found a comfortable watchband.

Every backpacker should have one of these in their gear, or a similar solar time-keeping device. Sure we can tell the approximate time and know when it's time to make camp, yet if your watch dies... !

As with ring sun dials, (also known as an Aquitaine or a perforated ring dial), the ring is hung vertically and oriented sideways towards the sun. A beam of light passes through a small hole in the ring and falls on hour-curves that are inscribed on the inside of the ring. The hole is usually on a loose ring within the ring so that the hole can be adjusted to reflect the current month and give accurate time.
Basic Instructions:

• Adjust the hole ( -o- ) the the current month.
• Suspend the ring dial so the hole faces towards the sun.
• A small bead of sunlight will appear on a number on the inside of the ring showing the hour.
• For those in Daylight Savings Time you'll need to add one hour, or accept the time as "solar time".

This particular dial does well, although I am finding it's not always the exact time - it's really close. Am hoping to find a better made solar ring dial to review and test with. For now, this is an EDC item.